


graduation

by gullapip



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, darwin never died au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 03:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gullapip/pseuds/gullapip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>they only have two pieces of jewelry between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	graduation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Murf1307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murf1307/gifts).



> for murf, after three years.

They weren’t even talking about school when Armando asks where Alex attended, which he finds he can’t really answer because the name of his childhood schools weren’t exactly high on his list of things to remember. When he mentions that he never finished high school anyway, Armando looks sort of- sad? Disappointed? Whatever it is, it’s surprising to Alex, and it must show on his face because Armando elaborates without prompting.

 

‘Everyone should have the chance to learn. Most people don’t, and many don’t realize how lucky they are when they can.’

 

He holds up his hand to show Alex his ring for a moment.

 

‘I was the first in my family to graduate, and that was only because I emigrated to America so young beforehand. After that, I got this ring, and I haven’t taken it off since.’

 

Alex doesn’t really know what to say, which is a little unusual, but despite his easy meshing with Armando, Alex still finds himself at a loss for words when he wants to be physical with him instead. Angel saves him from silence, popping in the room to summon them for something, and Alex stores the knowledge in the back of his mind for another day.

 

-

 

It isn’t until a months later, when Alex finds Armando sunk into an oversized armchair with his face hidden by a hardback book, that the subject of his ring comes up again.

 

Alex greets him with a genial, ‘hey’, and sits himself on the arm of the chair, big enough to be a bench all on its own, leaning in to read over Armando’s shoulder. It’s been two months since Alex thought he’d killed Armando in the middle of a training session and flung himself through a wall of errant fire, grasping for whatever he could reach and ending up clinging to Armando, who clung back with skin still smoking, plated over and covered in soot. Somewhere in between seeing each other’s eyes and fully embracing their lips had found one another too, unbelievably hot and tasting of smoke. It didn’t take much dialogue for them to understand that they were on the same page, and waking up to Armando’s internally cooled limbs tangled with his own was the best morning Alex ever had.

 

‘Hey.’ Armando smiles and leans back to look up at the face hovering over his, sliding his book onto a side table. ‘I was just about to look for you.’

 

Alex smiles back, ‘Oh yeah?’ and scootches over until he falls into the compact space between Armando’s hips and the arm of the chair. ‘Maybe it’s just your natural magnetism drawing me to you. That’s a Darwinian thing, isn’t it?’

 

Armando snorts, grinning, and shifts around so it’s more comfortable for both of them. ‘I’m pretty sure I haven’t developed any kind of homing signal in the last two months.’ 

 

Then his smile softens and Alex is reminded just how smitten he is with Armando, so much so that he almost misses what he says next.

 

‘-But, there is something that I’d like to change, that I’d like to share with you.’

 

Armando reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls back a closed fist; Alex eyes it curiously, but holds out his hand when Armando reaches for it, and something solid and heavy is dropped into his hand that he can’t see yet. When Armando withdraws his empty hand he reveals the still warm ring that’s never left his finger in years, and when Alex glances up to look at him he’s met with the surest, sweetest smile. It takes Alex a few moments to take in the situation, and a few more for a silent conversation between them, before he smiles back gently and nods. 

  
-

 

The ring is noticed immediately, it's kind of hard not to when it's the only thing Armando ever wore. But if any one noticed the new chain around his neck, tucked under his shirt, or how Alex never wears his dogtags anymore, no one said a thing.


End file.
